1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a basic amino acid derivative that demonstrates a gelling ability in a water system.
2. Discussion of the Background
A method of controlling fluidity of compositions that are liquid at ambient temperature such as cosmetic agents, pharmaceuticals, agricultural chemicals, feeds, fertilizers, paints and the like, and processing them into a form fitted for diversified use objects is an industrially very important technique. When the fluidity of an aqueous composition is controlled, water-soluble polymers such as carboxyvinyl polymer, xanthan gum and the like are generally used. In a system containing a salt, however, gelling is difficult and a large amount of water-soluble polymer needs to be added. Use of a large amount of water-soluble polymer is associated with a problem of a degraded sense of use, since the effect of a functional component contained in an aqueous composition is not sufficiently demonstrated, stickiness increases in the case of cosmetic agents, and the like.
Patent document 1, and non-patent documents 1 and 2 describe amino acid derivatives as gelling agents. It is described that addition of a comparatively small amount of these gelling agents causes gelling of an aqueous solution containing a salt. However, the obtained gel composition is not entirely satisfactory in terms of smoothness, spinnability and the like.